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40th Street Widening Is Finally Happening

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

TEMPLE CREST - Cheryl Blakey's daughter, Leah, hadn't been born when neighborhood residents began petitioning Tampa City Hall to widen 40th Street.
Blakey recalled that after her children were born she would walk with them from the family home on Sandalwood Circle to a convenience store on 40th Street to buy Slurpees.

Last week Blakey, her daughter, Leah Huskey, who is 27 and mother of a 16-month-old, were back on 40th Street. They had Huskey's daughter, Chloe, and Blakey's two other granddaughters, Isabella Blakey, 4, and 17-month-old Bailee Stout, with them.

The family stood and watched as city and county elected officials and local and state transportation representatives unveiled a placard, signifying plans to extend the project from Humphrey Street to River Pines Apartments near the Hillsborough River.

"I can't believe it's finally happening," Blakey said. "I've been here since 1971."

Blakey, who now lives in Temple Terrace, said she has been following the progress of the widening of 40th Street, which will be a four-lane, divided road from Fowler Avenue to Hillsborough Avenue when completed.

Leah Huskey, who rents the family home from her parents, said the improvements are a lifelong dream.

"I've been here 27 years," Huskey said. "Ever since I was born they have been talking about widening 40th Street."

Ruth Fleming, coordinator of the Woodland Terrace Neighborhood Watch, said she was thrilled the old 40th Street Bridge had been demolished and a new, well-lit four-lane span had opened.

"The lights are what really caught my eye," Fleming said. "They are beautiful."

Among those attending the unveiling ceremony included Mayor Pam Iorio, Council Chairman Tom Scott, Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, Councilman Joe Caetano and former city Councilman Shawn Harrison.

Construction work is about to begin on the fourth leg of the five-segment project. The latest construction contract was awarded to John Carlo Inc. for $5.1 million, a city news release said.

Completion of the stretch between Humphrey Street and River Pines Apartments is scheduled for July 2010.

The work will include realigning lanes, new street lighting and sidewalks, and landscaping from Hanlon to Humphrey streets. There will be stormwater, wastewater and other water improvements.

And the widening comes with a twist.

Two traffic circles will be installed to control traffic flow at River Hills Drive and Yukon Street. Plans called for adding a third roundabout on 40th Street later.

The traffic circles, which will be similar to those in Ybor City and at Channelside, are being touted as welcomed additions by members of the 40th Street Task Force, who have met monthly with representatives from Iorio's office for the past six years to discuss the project.

"I think it will be exciting to see them in action," said Terry Neal, a task force member and president of the Temple Crest Civic Association, of the traffic circles.

"Some people don't like roundabouts, but once they get used to them, they will find them easy to navigate."

To Neal, the positives of installing traffic circles as traffic calming devices outweigh the negatives.

Traffic circles tend to require motorists to reduce speed, Neal said. They also are environmentally sensitive because they don't require the use of electricity.

The residents who expressed concerns about roundabouts say they are willing to take a wait-and-see approach.

"At first I was a little nervous about it, but I've used others around Tampa," Cheryl Blakey said. "I love them. It keeps a good even traffic flow."

Leah Huskey also liked roundabouts but worry they would escalate accidents on 40th Street.

"I'm OK with it, but other people around here don't know how to drive," Huskey said. "There are a lot of wrecks around here."

William Trago, 30, who has lived at an apartment complex at 39th and Yukon streets for three years, said installing traffic circles are a mistake.

"There are a lot of families with kids around here," Trago said.

"I think it's a bad idea. I think they should keep the red light," he said, referring to the traffic signal at 40th and Yukon streets.

Fred Hoffman, 69, and a task force member, said drivers unaccustomed to roundabouts are likely to find them a challenge to maneuver at first, but traffic circles are essential to helping to reduce speeding on the busy thoroughfare.

The 40th Street widening has been Hoffman's pet project for 15 years.

Shortly after Iorio became mayor, Hoffman and others held a protest on the 40th Street Bridge to draw attention to its deteriorating conditions and the narrow, curvy two-lane road that carried traffic across it.

In 2003 Iorio identified the 40th Street widening as the top transportation priority for her administration. The cost of the project ballooned from an estimated $80 million to $100 million as the cost of construction materials rose.

The project is largely funded by state and federal dollars, with contributions from the city, county and Busch Gardens.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842.

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